Microsoft announces Surface 3 for $499

Microsoft refreshed the Surface Pro 3 nearly a year ago. The Surface 2, however, has been waiting since late 2013 for a hardware update. Now it’s finally gotten one.

Today, Microsoft revealed the all-new Surface 3. It’s not a gimpy cousin of the larger Surface Pro 3, either. It’s more like a little brother now that Microsoft has shifted to an Intel Atom processor under the hood and ditched the crippled Windows RT for full-blown Windows 8.1 complete with free Windows 10 upgrade. Yes, the Surface 3 can run apps from the Windows Store and Steam, GOG, or any other download site without the need for a jailbreak.

As far as looks go, the Surface 3 is very much like a scaled-down Pro. It’s got the same magnesium chassis and the same kickstand on the back, protecting what lurks beneath its 10.8-inch 1080p touchscreen. That includes a minimum of 64GB of internal storage and 2GB of RAM. There’s also a beefed-up model that comes with 128GB and 4GB of RAM. Everything has been crammed into a package that’s just 8.7mm thin and weighs just under a pound and a half.

Just like its big brother, you can clip in a touch cover (in black, maroon, red, purple, or blue). The Surface pen doesn’t come standard, but you’ll be able to add one that matches all the covers except purple if you need to do any sketching or scribbling. Microsoft is also selling a docking station for the Surface 3, a first for the non-Pro version.

The Surface 3 also gets a few goodies that its big brother doesn’t. For starters, it doesn’t need a special power adapter. It charges via a micro USB port, just like any ordinary tablet does. You’ll also be able to pick up a Surface 3 with an optional LTE modem, something Microsoft hasn’t offered for the Pro models yet.

Intrigued? You can’t buy the Surface 3 just yet. Microsoft will let you try one out in one of their retail stores starting tomorrow, and they’re already taking pre-orders. On May 5th, it officially goes on sale starting at $499 — lining it right up against an iPad Air 2 with a paltry 16GB of storage.